12-month lease ordinance

On December 6, 2016, the City Council passed a 12-month lease ordinance finding that tenants have a right to a written lease and that a contractual relationship with a landlord may offer some needed assurances of stability and minimize displacement of tenants in a rental housing market affording tenants few and increasingly expensive options.

What rental units does the ordinance cover?

The ordinance applies to multi-family rental properties, with four or more units.
Rental units not included in the 12-month lease ordinance are:

Single-family dwellings

Rooms in hotels which are rented for a period of less than thirty (30) consecutive days

Units in a condominium, community apartment or planned unit development

Accommodations in a hospital, skilled nursing, health or care facility, extended-care facility, nonprofit home for the aged

Units shared by landlord and tenant

Secondary dwelling units

Duplexes and triplexes

Units rented by a medical institution which are then subleased to a patient or patient’s family

Units whose rents are controlled or regulated by any government unit, agency or authority, or whose rent is subsidized by any government unit, agency or authority

Units acquired by the city or any other governmental unit, agency or authority intended to be used for public purposes

Units in unincorporated Menlo Park

When does the 12-month lease ordinance take effect?

This ordinance takes effect Monday, March 6, 2017.

What is required of the landlord/property owner/property management company?

A landlord shall offer a tenant or prospective tenet a written lease with a minimum term of one (1) year every twelve months. The written offer must include both the English and Spanish paragraphs below, in all capital letters and in at least size fourteen (14) font:

THE MENLO PARK CITY CODE PROVIDES YOU WITH THE RIGHT TO A WRITTEN LEASE. LANDLORDS MUST OFFER TENANTS THE OPTION TO ENTER INTO A ONE (1) YEAR WRITTEN LEASE. IT IS THE TENANT'S CHOICE WHETHER TO ENTER INTO SUCH A WRITTEN LEASE WITH A LANDLORD. FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE (WWW.MENLOPARK.ORG).